Mining Your Blog for Content Gold

We put undo pressure on ourselves to come up with sparkly new content for our online businesses, all the while ignoring a wealth of information right at our fingertips: the content already on our sites.

Here are two ways to examine your current site and uncover hidden (or forgotten) gems.

Once you’ve found these gems they can be repackaged in a variety of ways. Repackaging saves time, gives great (but neglected) content new life, and helps establish you as the expert you are.

1: Examine your blog post categories and tags

If you’ve been categorizing and tagging your posts use this ability to sort by topic to your advantage. Pick one category or tag and drill down through the blog posts. Look for big picture themes, how-to posts that go together to explain a larger topic, and posts that can be grouped together into a package of content.

Here’s an example:

A fitness coach has posted 30 healthy snack recipes on her blog over the past few years. With a little bit of editing and design she can repackage those into a PDF recipe book to sell or use as a freebie for her opt-in list.

2: Shine a light on your wisdom

Trust me, you’ve said some brilliant things in blog posts that have never seen the light of day. Now it is time to bring these bits of wisdom to light. Go back through your blog posts looking for little phrases, tips, quips, etc. that are totally you. You can turn these into branded tweets or tips to share on Facebook. You also can rescue neglected but powerful posts by pulling them out of the archives and showing them off.

Here’s an example:

Last March I blogged everyday. You probably didn’t see my March 2nd post “Do online businesses need a logo?” because I hadn’t been blogging for very long then. I decided to pull that post out of the archives and sent out this tweet last week:

It got retweeted a couple of times and more people were exposed to that info and me. You can do this with your vintage blog posts, too.

If I wanted to take it even further I can make a branded tweet like this:
“Branching Out Tip: get these files from your logo designer: .eps .tif .jpg .gif along w/color & font info, you’ll need it as your biz grows” Or I could pull a larger chunk of info out of the blog post and make it into a tip for my Facebook page.

What if your website is new?

So if you’ve read this far and are saying well that’s all great for someone with a lot of blog posts, but what about me? Here are a few tips for new bloggers, too.

Fill up the tags and categories

Instead of relying on tags and categories that aren’t quite full, do the work and fill out those categories and tags. Pick a topic and write a series of posts.

Here’s an example: Our fitness coach has a category called “flat stomach” with only one blog post so far. She decides to do a week long blog series on the best exercises to tone your tummy. Seven blog posts later she has a great series on her blog and also enough material to put together a quick PDF ebook for her audience.

Expand questions into content

Look at your social media streams and emails for little bits of conversation. What do you talk about all the time? What questions do you answers over and over? Think about how you can expand those into a blog post or a video response.

Here’s an example: Our fitness coach is always answering questions about how she got back into shape so soon after having a baby. She created a step-by-step fitness plan for herself, but hadn’t thought about sharing it with anyone else. She’s answered that question so many times that she can pretty much recite the answer in her sleep. Now she has perfect material for a blog post or even an ebook.


===========

***Super Cool Bonus***

Post a link to your blog in the comment section below and I’ll go on a mining excursion on your blog. The first 20 to comment will get a reply with my recommendations for quick ways to repackaging their genius.
==========


39 Comments

  1. Erin Goodman on at

    LOVED this, Christie!!! Just what I needed to read today! Thank you!

    xo

    ~erin



    • christie on at

      Erin – You are already so, so good at packaging up your content neatly (Behind the Blog). Would love to see a “Best of { Breathing Space }” either in pdf or a roundup blog post, with a sidebar button, to invite all your new readers to get to know you even better.



      • nasrine on at

        That is such a good idea Christie.



        • christie on at

          Thank you Nasrine – You have a wealth of info on Wassla Weekly – would love to see you package up all those great restaurant spotlights into a guide for new visitors to Dubai.



      • Erin Goodman on at

        Thank you SO much, Christie. Much appreciated!!

        ~erin

        PS ~ I’m looking forward to visiting everyone else’s blogs and reading your comments. Such a great learning opportunity for all of us!!



  2. Ingrid on at

    This is such an exciting post- I want to mine not only my blog, but my tangible products for e-product ideas. Right now I’m icing the tendinitis in my shoulder created by years of hand production… thanks for the lovely tips! ~Ingrid



    • christie on at

      Ingrid – So sorry you are dealing with tendinitis. I love the idea of looking at your tangible products for e-product ideas. Also, take a look at the behind the scenes of your business. You are an expert at taking creative ideas and turning them into tangible products, there’s an e-product right there: teaching other creatives how to take their e-products to the physical realm.



  3. Oh Miss Christie — these are beautiful and timely tips! I plan on doing a little research this week and mine some of my gems. I’ve been blogging for over 18 months and I’m sure there are plenty of goodies that are worth sharing again!



    • christie on at

      Kerrie – your blog is chock full of goodness and so many little gems that are totally Kerrie. I can see you pulling out tasty little bits and doing some branded tweets, really start connecting with some of the other pleasure seekers on Twitter. And now that you’ve got your fancy new blog digs pulling out some of those blog posts that explain the “why” behind In Her Element really telling that story for all the new readers of your blog.



  4. Love this post, Christie! There are several areas I checked off as I read through here that I can do immediately. One thing I did do recently was to install a plug-in on my site called Tweet Old Post which goes back into my blog archives (based on criteria I’ve set) and tweets out some of my past posts. It rounds out my post stream in an automated way. What are your thoughts on that plug in?

    Jennifer Peek | Small Business Strategist
    Find Your New Groove
    The Freedom to Build Your Business Your Way



    • christie on at

      Jennifer – I’m all for automating marketing and recycling content. And also for testing: One thing I would suggest is tracking how the plugin works for you, are you seeing increased traffic to those posts (if you aren’t already doing this). The way you’ve created such great categories of blog posts (Brilliant Biz Tips, Groovy Grab Bag, etc.) is going to make it super easy for you to repackage your posts. How about a Find Your New Groove pdf collection of Brilliant Business Tips for New Entrepreneurs.



      • Thanks, Christie! I hadn’t started tracking the old post traffic – or really even thought about doing it separately since installing the plugin so that is a great idea. Love the pdf idea! I have transcripts to go with the videos so that will be super easy.



  5. Irene Lyon on at

    hey Christie

    What you wrote about hits so close to home right now.

    I’m in the midst of totally wanting to re-design my site and have maybe 3 key topic areas with my top reads so it is easier for people to find juicy info that is pertains to their pain-points.

    I really like what Marie Forleo has done with her new site and the right side bar area that has only two topic areas “Fear and self-doubt” and “get done….”. I need to streamline my site so that there is the “make your body move with no pain…..”. or something like that, and then the other piece, the SE piece “get rid of stress and…..”, etc.

    Thanks for this very cool offering. You are SO smart!



    • christie on at

      Irene – Here you are to present such a juicy challenge to me. 🙂 Starting with all that you’ve learned in the last few weeks with Marie and in the past year and all the great content on your site, you have such a strong foundation to build on. In “Make your body move w/no pain” & “get rid of stress” & your 3rd key topic area, take a look at those main posts that support each category and ask yourself: a) what’s missing from the conversation you’ve started? b) what do you know now that you didn’t know a year ago c) what do you keep talking about over and over. For instance, you write a lot about backs and hamstrings. Are these the core areas that clients come to you for help? If so how can this be clearer on the site?



  6. Shay on at

    Great post Christie! I often struggle to come up with new content. You really gave me a new perspective on how to get past mental blocks. Thank you!



    • christie on at

      Miss Shay – So glad this is giving you a new perspective. Since your site is shiny new I’d love to see you take your list of services and create a series of blog post about each for your target market. Break your Competitor Analysis service down into blog posts. Explain in detail why analyzing your competition is so important for entrepreneurs: 1) what’s a USP and why entrepreneurs need one, 2) How to figure out what sets you apart from your competition, etc., etc. Take the details right from your sales page and expand all those points into blog posts.



  7. Hi Christie,
    This is such a great post. And I really needed the reminder. I have almost 70 posts and there are some great gems in there. I need to do this.

    Thanks for the reminder.
    Laurie

    http://www.chronicwellnesscoaching.com/blog/



    • christie on at

      Laurie – Yes, you have so, so much great info on your blog. I’d love to see an easier way for visitors to access all this. Perhaps category links in the sidebar (“Recipes” “Radical Self Care”, etc.) Or a quick start list of posts “Start Healing Here” that would guide 1st time visitors to key posts for their healing journey. When you are pulling out articles from your archives and sending them out in the world think about seasons, what can you revisit from last spring/summer (I noticed several seasonal posts). And also consider what services/programs you are planning to launch. What posts are great lead ins to support your launches.



      • Thank you Christie. I did have my category links up, but there were some problems with it. I need to revisit gettig those fixed. But I like the idea of a link to a page of archives. And the seasons. Very good. Thanks so much.

        Any thoughts on how to make this easy? I get bored combing through the back end with so much there. Wish there was an easier way to see what I have.



  8. nasrine on at

    Hi Christie! What wonderful hints and tips. I always need a reminder of scheduling tweets on past posts. Also, I remember when I was writing my dissertation a professor mine has mentioned the same idea as you shared with us above. Write an research paper on each chapter of your dissertation for each other your course and soon you will have completed it a big chunk of your work. The same is true for the filling up tags and sections. I never thought of it that way. Thank you for such a resourceful post.



    • christie on at

      Nasrine – You are the second person recently who has compared writing their dissertation to writing blog posts. Yes, the key is to keep breaking it down into bits that are small enough for us to accomplish without getting overwhelmed with the largeness of the project. You are already doing a great job of filling in the categories on your Wassla Weekly blog. So now that you are getting a lot of material compiled it’s time to start looking at how to package it into something new. I mentioned a dining guide above, but also you have the opportunity to pitch to travel magazines covering the area.



  9. Randi on at

    So smart! I’m a reluctant writer and blogger and am doing it anyway. (I’ve just this month taken this on as a commitment.) I really see the value of actually tagging the posts for SEO, etc… If going through the effort of putting posts out there, it’s great to up the odds that they’ll be read. Interestingly, I have so many posts from within my coaching programs (exercises, forum feedback, etc…) that I now have a few books worth of material. I need to see my blog as a source for this as well. Thanks!



    • christie on at

      Randi – I am so glad you are reluctantly blogging because you are so very, very good. I’ve found that tagging my posts and categorizing them is giving me a better sense of the topics I really love to talk about. So it’s helping me organize my thoughts and my blog plan as I’m going along. I love that you are considering packaging up your coaching programs into a books. Go for it!



  10. Adeah on at

    Great reminder! It’s funny when I go back to old content I am reminded of the value just sitting on my computer or hidden on my blog. Thank you for the great examples of leveraging our content.



    • christie on at

      Adeah – quit hiding your blog girl! You have so many great tips hidden away and hard to find. I want you to make it way easier for visitors to your site to get to that info. Here are some ideas. 1) social media category sections in the sidebar “Facebook” “YouTube” “Twitter” “Google+” etc, that so that visitors can quickly jump to the blog posts about whatever social media avenue they are struggling with 2) a “quick start” guide that links to posts that help them get started building their social media presence (because I know a lot of your target market are reluctant adopters). 🙂



      • Adeah on at

        Christie- Thank you! You put ID’d what I’ve been thinking for a while now. I like simple but I’ve made it too simple! Time to refresh my blog and make it usable.



  11. Kathleen on at

    Christie! Thank YOU so MUCH for these powerFULL jewels! I can’t believe how RICH this piece is! I always wanted to do that session with you but the reason I didn’t was because I needed to go through a process = creating my website. I was going to have you look at the material on my blog. Anyway… I can seeeeeeeee so clearly how that WOULD have served and NOW will serve me tremendouslly!

    I so want to work with you! Its coming! and in the meantime I am going to digest this piece. Again, thank you for your brilliant wisdom
    xo



    • christie on at

      Kathleen – Everything in it’s own time, right? So happy that you devoted your energies fully to the visual representation of your work through your site. So powerful! Now you have the opportunity to really explain the power of your work in words & visuals. To woo your tribe to you…AND to meet your tribe where they are so you can respond directly to their fears and any objections they have to doing that deep exploratory work with you. To do that, I encourage you to keep asking questions of your tribe: what’s mysterious about your work or working with you to them? what scares them? what excites them? etc. Keep showing up, keep talking about your work and how important this exploration is to women at all the different points in our lives.



  12. Tina Pruitt on at

    Christie!
    Okay, you know I already love you, but this is an eye-opener for sure! I am actually mining through old blog posts right now, but just for content for more posts….didn’t think about some of the ideas you listed, but I LOVE THEM!

    On a similar note, you did such a great job of this for me in the 12 Hot Self Care Tips from Some Very Cool Experts Guide ~ which is so lovely! Off of one collabrative post, you created a work of art!

    Thanks for a great post and such a generous offer!

    xo, Tina



    • christie on at

      Thank you Tina I’m blushing! I’ve been reading through your blog posts and what comes out for me is that you are so, so awesome on video. You just shine. You are the greatest testament to living healthy. One of my favorites is a video you made while traveling this summer about “letting go of the things that no longer serve you.” Completely spoke to where I was yesterday and I’m still thinking about it today.

      So (if this doesn’t take you off that secret track you’re on) I would love to see you do even more videos. What can you pull from past blog posts and make into short video segments? Not just around juicing but around the broader topics of self-care, stress, mind/body/spirit, etc. Will doing this help move you toward your 2012 goal of public speaking?



  13. Sarah Yost on at

    I just mined every blog post for beliefs, stories, tidbits and it was so interesting! I’ve mined everything I can and now I’m not sure what to do with all that info. The most interesting thing is that my very first blog post was about my current essential message (procrastination carries holy messages about your right life. Listen, don’t fight with it.)



    • christie on at

      Sarah, Every time I read your blog, or listen in on one of your calls I feel like I’m witnessing this amazing birth. Your voice gets stronger, your message clearer. Did you notice that as well when you did your mining? I don’t have a quick “pull these 3 posts together and bam! you have a product” solution for you. In your posts I see two main themes: 1) a constant uplifting of parents/teaching how to parent, 2) a guide to self-care that feels incredibly spiritual but never like I’m in church. So I want to know where do you want to go with this? As you say, you don’t have to know exactly where you’re going just a general direction. Are you heading toward a book, or a course, or a retreat (that would be cool)? If you just sat with all the tidbits you’ve mined what would they say to you? What do you see as the bigger connections in your words? What is the main thread that ties all those beliefs, stories, tidbits together? Or is there more than one thread? Where do you have more to say? And then… bring your tribe into the equation…How have you found that your audience best likes to connect with you? etc.



  14. Christyna on at

    I am always interested in getting your wisdom about presenting my magic in a way that is easy for my ideal clients to understand! Thank you for this sweet bonus!!!



    • christie on at

      Hello, hello! Here’s what I have for you, Christyna: categories are your friend. I want to see you start using them! Let me know if you need help w/the WordPress end of this! They will help your ideal clients find info on your blog as it grows and grows. Take some time, sit with your vision and see what main categories come to mind. Here are a few you have going already: testimonials, blog responses, financial Friday. You talk a lot about habits/systems. I want to know what they are. Give me some blog posts that start to showcase these. I’d love to see a “start here” section in the sidebar w/links to top blog posts to start a new financial journey “baseline agreements” would be in that list. And you can add more as you go. I see you have a new course coming up. What can you blog about that will lead us up to that course? What do I need to know before I’ll be ready to take the course? Is there prep work I can do? And finally….Can you repackage your “Foundation of Sustainable Profits” offering into a DIY ebook/course to sell as well?



      • Christyna on at

        Wow! You are a genius. That is at least 5 improvements that took you less than 5 minutes to list. Thank you so much for your insight! I will check back in with my progress/changes.



  15. Taryn Pyle on at

    Would love to have your critique!



    • christie on at

      Hi Taryn – Your blog is full of so much heart! I’d like to see you do something like a manifesto/workbook with your post “Let The Voice Within OUT!” This would be a great little PDF that would inspire your audience to take a big look at their dreams plus it would give them an incentive for signing up for your list.

      Also, you’ve got a lot of great content that you could translate into Facebook status updates and Tweets. For instance: “Come out of the darkness and into the light. See yourself through eyes of love.” in your “My visit to the past” post.

      Keep up the great work!



  16. This blog is very nice and informative….it helps me a lot….
    Here is my website if you want to know more information- http://www.connectmining.com/



  17. Vanessa on at

    This is something I’ve been meaning to do but didn’t know where to start!! I love the tip of using your categories, so simple & effective. Thanks!